Our Illinois River segment was 312 nautical miles. We moved along every day until we got to Alton, IL.

Joliet

The trip to Joliet was short on miles and long on hours. We had to pass through two locks, one of which involved a three hour wait while a large chemical tow was broken down into two sections to fit in the lock.
The commercial traffic has priority over recreational boats. This tow was three barges wide and five long.
Recreational traffic is not allowed into locks when dangerous chemicals are being locked through. There were six boats waiting for this operation so we all got out on the bank and visited as we waited.

The Calumet SAG canal, at the upper end of the Illinois is quite narrow and barges are parked along the banks making tow passage one way on some sections. We had a one hour wait while a long tow literally scraped his way along the wall on one side and some double parked barges on the other bank. Travel was hectic.

Joliet was having a Latin Music Festival the Saturday we pulled in. We tied up at the Bicentennial Park wall and spent the night with twin 30 Amp power courtesy of the city. The festival was fun and we had some great Mexican food washed down with cold beer. Rating $***, Entertainment ***

Starved Rock
With the previous days experience we decided to pull out at first light and rush to the next lock. It was a wise move. We called the lock from about a mile away and the lock master said, "You bring it right on, we will wait for you."
 

That was like music to my ears. "Lock waits for Remedy, instead of Remedy waits for Lock", I thought about making that into a song. All three locks were the same way that day... no waits. We did the 48 mile trip  to Starved Rock Marina in seven hours.  The weather was great. And the scenery got pretty towards Starved Rock.

East Port / Peoria
 

The lock master at Starved Rock was nice enough to hold up for us, so we cruised in, dropped about 12 feet, and cruised 61 miles to our destination. Along the way we were passed by this handsome excursion boat. It was an authentic stern wheeler, the paddle wheel made it move. When you stay at the East Port Marina, relax by the pool and swim a few laps. This will get rid of the aches and pains of cruising down the river.

Then dine right on the premises at Famous Dave's.  Ribs to die for...  and be sure to get the drunken apple side dish. Marion and Barbara picked the Kahalua Brownie with Ice cream for dessert and I got an extra spoon. Rating $$ ***

Beardstown

On our way to the Logsdon Tug Service Barge, (that was our destination for the night), we went through the Peoria Lock with 4 other pleasure boats and the second half of a 15 barge coal tow.

Sharing the lock with a large tow was a first for us. The first half of the tow was 9 barges, 3 x 3. That section had been pushed through before we came. The second half was the remaining 6 barges and the tow boat. It was in the lock when we came. We we loaded in on the starboard wall alongside the tow boat and behind the last row of barges. The three barge width was about 2 feet narrower than the lock walls.

All went well until the big tow started to leave. The tow pushed ever so slowly, and the barges scraped along the walls of the lock. His prop wash turned the lock chamber into mix master. The pleasure boats jostled around like toy ships in an infant's tub bath. None were damaged, but holding position in the lock by the bitter end of 20 foot wall lines was a strenuous task. Soon we were under way on the remaining miles of the 68 mile day cruise.

We tied up at the Logsdon barge, and about an hour later Ron and Beverly Arbizanni, M/V Farfetched, came in to tie up as well. We had not seen them since Punta Gorda last January.  We played tennis and bridge with them. We agreed to travel with each other for the trip down the Mississippi and on to Green Turtle Bay.

Hardin

After about 30 seconds of discussion Ron and I decided that we would not do the Long Distance to Alton in one day. Instead we did a more modest 59 miles to the Illinois Riverdock Restaurant at Hardin.

The weather turned a bit cold and damp. We had only one lock, La Grange, on the way. The lock master said, "Don't bother tying to the walls. Just drift around in the lock. You will be down in 10 minutes."

This was the first day we traveled in rain since North Carolina.  How's that for a good weather record.

We were docked by mid afternoon and I went into town in search of red wine. While there I got a hair cut. The longer I talked with the barber the shorter my hair got. It ended up quite short.

"It will be fine by Thanksgiving," Marion offered as an optimistic evaluation.

Both crews dined together at Riverdock that evening. The owner, Mel, is also the principal chef.  His specialties include smoked pork steaks, smoked chicken breasts, Texas style barbecue Brisket, marinated roast pork loin and local fish prepared several ways. It was a relatively slow night so he treated us to samples of all his specialties before we ordered. $7.95 for a feast!!! All was first rate. Barbara and Marion selected peach pie a la mode. It was so good we went back the next morning to get a whole pie!

Rating $ ****  A must stop... Free Overnight docking... but no electric or water.
 
 
 

Alton It's an easy 32 miles down to Alton. We were in no hurry to leave.  There was a low level fog generated by the warm river and the cool north breeze. It was burning off as we departed. It's a pretty sight.

 

After 20 miles we entered the Mississippi River at Grafton Illinois. There is a high bluff on the left descending bank where the Illinois meets the Mississippi. It makes a great backdrop for a boat photo. Here is Farfetched passing on our port with a minimum wake. I will have more to say about Alton in the next episode.